Wild Bison Attack in Yellowstone National Park Leaves 47-Year-Old Tourist Hospitalized

(Photo : Pexels/Chait Goli)

A 47-year-old woman from Arizona was hospitalized after she was attacked by a bison in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

According to the press release, the woman was walking with her companion in a field near the Lake Lodge when they saw the bison.

The visitors turned to walk away from the animals, but one of the bison "charged and gored" the woman.

"The woman sustained significant injuries to her chest and abdomen and was transported by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center," the press release read. As of this writing, the condition of the victim is still unknown.

National Park Warned Tourist

Yellowstone Park is home to around 5,900 bison as of summer 2022.

According to the National Park Service, it is the only place in the United States where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times..

"Bison are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans," said the National Park.

They reminded the public that wildlife in the national park can be dangerous when approached; thus, they advised the visitors to stay more than 25 yards (23 meters) away from large animals, such as bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes, and at least 100 yards (91 meters) away from bears and wolves.

As much as possible, avoid interacting with wild animals by going the other way.

They added, that animals must be given more space during mating season, which is around mid-July to mid-August, as bison can become more agitated quickly.

This is the first bison-related incident this year. The most recent reported incident occurred on June 2022, when a bison gored someone in the park, as reported by Accuweather.

Human-wildlife encounters

Yellowstone National Park has recorded several incidents in the past few months that have put both humans and wildlife in danger.

In May, a video of a woman standing near a fully grown bison to take a selfie went viral. The bison appeared unconcerned, remaining motionless on the ground and only moving to munch on the surrounding grass.

In the same month, a visitor from Hawaii was fined $500 and made an additional payment of $500 to the Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund for the charge of intentionally disturbing wildlife after he pleaded guilty to picking up a bison calf.

This incident led the animal to reject it, and the calf was killed so that it was no longer a danger to itself or anyone else.

Dangerous wildlife interactions have grown so prevalent that an Instagram account with the handle @touronsofyellowstone-"touron" being a mix of the terms "tourist" and "moron"-has more than 271,000 followers.

When tourists come too close to wild animals and fail to respect their limits, "devastating consequences" can result.

"The chance at a photo is not worth risking your life, the lives of other visitors or that of an animal," Wendy Keefover, senior strategist of wildlife protection at the Humane Society of the United States told ABC News. "If you ever see someone putting themselves or wildlife in danger, speak out and call 911 to alert law enforcement immediately."